The district police have denied the permission on the grounds that since the secondary examination conducted by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) is currently underway there are restrictions on the use of loudspeakers during that period.

The district police, while denying the permission, had also pointed out that there is a school near the venue of the proposed meeting of the RSS chief. However, there is a counter-argument that since the meeting will be on Sunday there will be no question of the examination process being disturbed.

On Thursday, the state unit of RSS approached Calcutta High Court challenging the denial of police permission. The matter is expected to come up for hearing on Friday.

Bhagwat is currently on a tour in West Bengal. During the tour, he met different state functionaries of RSS and discussed how to expand the organisation’s network in the state.

The proposed meeting at Burdwan on Sunday is a part of the exercise focussing on districts in central Bengal. Political observers feel that the tour is extremely crucial on two counts, the first of which is the crucial West Bengal Assembly elections in 2025.

Secondly, the tour is happening against the backdrop of the continuing persecution of the minority Hindu population in neighbouring Bangladesh, the obvious impact of which is felt in West Bengal which has the longest international border with Bangladesh.

On February 8, Bhagwat had a long meeting with the parents of the victim female doctor in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case. The latter have sought the intervention of the RSS chief in ensuring justice for their daughter.

During the meeting, the victim’s parents, especially, requested Bhagwat to ensure that the Centre takes necessary steps and gives appropriate instructions so that a fair investigation into the matter is carried out in future and all the masterminds behind the ghastly crime are punished. Bhagwat gave them his assurances on the matter.